UKC

An eternal mystery to me is the porridge solution for backpacking. I love porridge in the morning. Then I go on the hoof and can't work out the best way of doing it.

Ready Brek - bleurgh!

Normal porridge - what about the milk on multi day trips?

Porridge pots - hmmmmmm - thin and watery.

Cooking porridge in a backpacking pan - jesus! Its like filling the pan with burnt cement post brekky!

What is the perfect solution?

Create your own pre-made porridge mix - superfast oats, milk powder +/- sugar. Add some to mug with boiling water, stir, leave for few minutes and eat. If super lazy put pre-measured amount into individual bags and add water into bag to make the porridge, avoiding washing up (but generating waste).

Boil water.  Mix powdered milk and porridge in a bowl.  Add boiling water and stir.  Leave for a few minutes with a lid of some kind.  Boil some more water to make tea and keep some back. Make tea, eat porridge, put remaining boiling water into bowl as soon as you finish to avoid concrete.  

Agree, can wrap with towel/fleece to keep warm and mix chocolate drink powder for the ultimate day starter.

If your oats are big then a quick blast in food processor or soup/smoothie maker nutribullet etc will make them a bit quicker to cook.  

That sounds good.  Never tried hot chocolate but I will.  

What milk powder do you use? I gave up on that stuff after ST Ivel 5 pints...

Black tea & coffee are fine for a few days..

Nido.

My porridge mix includes normal oats and instant porridge. Plus Nido and sugar. And cinnamon and sultanas. Weighed out carefully into zip lock bags, to which I add a measured amount of hot water (in a plastic pot). Leave in a cosy for ten minutes whilst I enjoy a premixed hot chocolate.

Milled oats mixed with water, milk and salt. Leave in bottom oven of Rayburn overnight. Just eat in the morning.

Nido (whole milk powder) as above.

Make it into flapjack before you set off. No need for milk then. Or make it into muesli and have it with water; that's hard-core. 

That is going to need quite a large rucksack

Salt? Bleurgh.

Whatever supermarket own brand I happen to get.  Make sure its powdered milk and not "non dairy creamer" whatever that chemical is. 

I like the suggestion to get hot chocolate powder though, the kind with milk already in it would work.  

Most instant hot chocolate uses non dairy fat. It's revolting.

Nido is a revelation as far as powdered milk goes. Reconstituted, it's actually like milk...

That's just a technicality.

Make up premixed bags of oats, raisins, whole milk powder and a bit of sugar. Pour into a bowl and add 200ml or so of hot water, give it a stir and let it stand for a few minutes before eating.

Can also try coconut milk powder for extra calories although it is an acquired taste!

Nido is the answer. 

Heaped tablespoon of Nido, Porridge, Walnuts, Raisins, Cinnamon and Dried Apple. Add boiling water and hey presto, can me 'made' anywhere.

I'll try Nido then. Never thought of making it in the bag. Bit un-eco in the long run but a great idea. Who needs a planet when youve got porridge..?

Yep its worth a try. I hated powdered milk before i tried Nido, but its actually ok now I'm used to it. If you get some Bacofoil Safeloc bags to make it up in while you're out it will save having to mess pots/bowls up.

Have a look at Dorri . co . uk if you fancy fruit in it too. They do lovely cinnamon flavoured dried apples wedges, chop a couple of those up and chuck em in and you'll be landed.

I dont cook it in the bag, but others do. Sturdy zip-lock bags can be washed and reused. I re-use the bags I use to hold my porridge and chocolate mixes.

When I actually did some back packing, I used to mix up dried milk and water in a small plastic bottle the night before then just use it up as a bottle of milk for tea / porridge in the morning. 

When I’m backpacking I usually leave the Rayburn at home...

As others have said, Nido is the way to go for dried milk.

I pre-mix my porridge and measure out into Pour and Store bags which can be reused so less environmentally unfriendly.

If your porridge pots are thin and watery then you've added to much water (i.e. filled it to the line they tell you to). I like them for bothies as it's Judy a case of chucking the empty put in the fire after eating 

Normal porridge is water and oats. Milk doesn't come into it.

I tend to go with sachets of porridge for the minimal cooking required. Pour into a mug, add in pre-mixed whey protein, cinnamon and flax/sunflower/chia seed and you're good to go in a couple of mins after boiling your water (which I tend to do the night before and stick it in a flask). 

Yep, my Christmas TV viewing in a nutshell 

Well, my wife's great grandma used to make a whole lot of it and pour it into a drawer from whence slices of it would be cut when needed over a period of days (or longer).  So I'd suggest making it the usual way, but in a larger quantity than normal, and fill up the bottom third (say) of your rucksack with it.  Once it's set, stuff the rest of your kit on top of it.  Bingo - enough tasty porridge for days! 

Thank you for that enirely horrible mental image!

Porridge with almond milk or something like that is pretty good; chuck in the oats and whatever flavouring you want. It's like the regular porridge but without the worry that it'll spoil on multi day trips. 

It's true. 

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/food-and-drink/2497753/the-b...

I was more worried by the rucksack plan, but you've now made sure I'll never go rifling through my scots relatives' storage spaces!

I remember sheltering from the rain in a shepherds' hut early one morning high up in the French Pyrenees. The two shepherds were both sharing a bed and drinking red wine, then this German guy turns up out of the mist, no rucksack, just carrying a full plastic bag in each hand. He and I go outside, I make porridge on my stove, he gets out a bar of dark chocolate from one of his bags, cuts it up and puts it in the porridge. 

I think of this most times I have porridge, which isn't very often these days as this really put me off the stuff.

Is that a euphemism?

Just googled NIDO. Not heard of it but appears to be a 21stC version of Millac. That was my go to milk powder when I needed a go to milk powder. St Ivel was also ok.

Don't know what your Millac was then, but now it's a mix of skimmed milk and non-dairy fat powders.

Nido is just full fat freeze dried milk powder.

Not sure if it's related to Klim...

I’m reading this whole thread wondering why everyone puts milk in porage too. I was brought up with 1/2 cup oats to 1 1/4 cup water with salt or honey/sultanas added for taste. Milk was never part of it. 

Question for all those that have milk, was your intro to porage Ready Brek/other ready made stuff? Am genuinely intrigued and surprised by this thread!

I grew up with a dairy allergy so my porridge was always just oats and water with a bit of sugar and then fruit/nuts added at the end. I've grown out of the allergy but can't get used to the taste of porridge with milk.

My introduction to porridge was my Grandad making it in a pan.  With milk.  NW England in the 1970s but I expect he had been making it like that for many years.  

My Dad (other side of the family) also said milk. 

I assumed porridge with water was for when people couldn't afford milk.  I didn't know people preferred it.  

Ditto.

I don't think it's weird or unusual, just subjective innit.  Like Marsbar, my first porridge was made by my Gran in the '70s, in a pan with milk and water.  Probably about 50/50.  No fruit, honey or anything, but a sprinkling of sugar on top and if there was an unopened bottle of milk in the fridge a little bit of the cream off the top.  (SE England in my case.)

For camping purposes I mix oats, powdered milk and a few raisins and weigh portions out into plastic bags.  I have a 500ml Thermos food flask that doubles as a mug.  Chuck the mix in there, top up with boiling water, put the lid on, give it a good shake and leave it to cook for 10 mins while I drink my coffee.  Half fill the flask with water immediately afterwards and leave it for a bit, then it's dead easy to clean.  The flask is also handy for cooking rice or anything else you might simmer gently - bring it to the boil, chuck it in, lid on and leave it a while.

I'd never heard of Nido, didn't even realise full-fat (as opposed to skimmed) milk powder was a thing.  I have a strong aversion to buying anything Nestle, old habit, I guess that means I've been boycotting them for almost 40 years but I might look out for an 'ethical' alternative.

Overnight oats using rego chocolate powder. 

Because it tastes nicer than gruel...

I try to avoid Nestle too.  Must admit I don't know if they make the supermarket stuff or not.  

Next time I go to the world food aisle or an international supermarket I will have a look because TRS and Natco both do full cream milk powder.  It is apparently used in Indian sweets, so it should be available.  

I tend to take fresh for short trips anyway and at the moment I'm eating breakfast at home for the foreseeable future

I had porridge every day on the Appalachian Trail. 

I had a pot 'cozy' that I made out of reflextix and aluminium duct tape. I'd boil the correct amount of water, dump 3 of those quaker oat so simple sachets (you can mix the flavours up to make interesting blends) and then let it sit in the cozy for 5 mins. After that I'd heat up a pot of green tea which would also clean the pan out of porridge mess. 

If I was less transient then I'd probably look into making my own porridge mixes to be more economical with waste and money. Get some skimmed milk powder, dried fruit, etc. Chia seeds are a good thing to include also.

I think I still have some reflextix,  if you'd like me to send you some.

You can get whole milk powder that isn't Nido eg https://www.realfoodsource.com/product/whole-milk-powder-1kg/

Who makes supermarkets' own-brand stuff is anyone's guess I suppose, but posters above are recommending 'Nido' specifically and that's definitely one of Nestle's brands. 

I've no idea whether it's particularly good compared to other full-fat powdered milk though, or if it's just that full-fat powdered milk is nicer than skimmed.  I had no idea that full-fat powdered milk was even a thing before I read this thread, I just assumed it had to be skimmed for some reason.  (I think own-brand supermarket powdered milk is always skimmed.)  There don't seem to be many alternatives. 

International supermarket could be a good shout though, or a health food shop maybe, and there seems to be an organic Dutch product online: https://www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk/organic-whole-milk-powder-500g.html

I'm happy enough with the skimmed stuff tbh, but I might give that one a try.  500g would probably last me a couple of years!

Ta.

Interesting that it all seems to be Dutch.  There's this stuff too:
https://www.peakcatalogue.com/product-details/peak-regular-whole-milk-powde...

Good job they don't pluralise the name.  I couldn't bring myself to post a link on here if it was called 'Peaks'.

I've tried them. Wasn't impressed. More like condensed milk, and rather on the rancid side (I'm very sensitive to rancidity, though). As with the Dutch powders linked above, they don't reconstitute easily; Nido does, in cold water, with ease. I note the 'Peak' brand mentions it does, too. Nver seen it, though.

Full fat milk powders will always be prone to rancidity; a tin of Nido will go off after opening, hence the very careful seal. Should be fine for a month or so. Keping in the fridge will help.

Ah, right.  As I don't dislike it I may as well just stick to the skimmed stuff in that case, thanks.

I may be being a bit pessimistic about the opened life, but it certainly wont last a couple of years. A 400g tin doesnt go that far, though; I think its 90g per pint.

Bloody brilliant! Great article. Used to go through Carrbridge all the time when I lived up in Moray - never made the championships though!

Having been born in Laahhndern, with milk was how it was always served to me as a kid - I always assumed that was 'normal' until I moved to Scotland but I find it a bit insipid made with just water. A pal of mine runs a B&B near Troon and serves his guests with a bowl and a malt miniature to stir in....

I had porridge with whisky in Wales in a B and B.  It was delicious.  Definitely not a work day treat.  

Maybe I will stick to skimmed then.  Seems bombproof.  

Love The Broons cartoons.  

I use birds instant custard powder mixed with oats - make it up at home in individual serving bags and just add hot water. Custardy porridge goodness!

More efficient still?: make porridge in the pan/billy, eat in situ and scrape as clean as poss with spoon, add more water, boil, make tea in situ and drink (including bits of potential concrete), 

Not really hard core. Well, not around here anyway. Whether you call it muesli or rolled oat brose it's extremely nourishing and quite tasty. What you wet it with is a matter of personal choice. As already suggested, pre-mixing with powdered milk works quite well since one is mixing the milk in a way that prevents it clinging together and enables it to absorb the moisture more evenly.

And regarding milk powder, if push comes to shove then use follow-on baby milk. The stuff for toddlers. It's intended for a more mature metabolism than full-on baby milk and will do fine for short trips. It's a big advantage is that it's available nearly everywhere. 

That sounds so very wrong.  And yet..   
I think I'm going to have to give that a try.

Like deepsoup, I'm going to have to try that!

I can't decide if that is genius or terrible.  I suppose if I put some apple in it then its not much different to crumble.  

Just no.  I'm barely approachable in the morning as it is.  Porridge bits in my tea could be responsible for an international scale tantrum.  

Just make sure you use the powder with sugar incorporated - absolutely gopping if you use the plain!

I add dried fruit as well, Breakfast of champions.

Milk in porridge makes it into baby food. Fine if you like milk, and/or baby food - but I don't like either.

Porridge is a Scottish invention - milk has never been traditionally used there. It must be a namby-pamby English thing.

Well I'm a namby pamby Sassenach then.  Guilty as charged.  

It seems masochistic and puritanical to me to put water instead.  

Each to their own.  

I think you need to go and read the P&J article linked earlier.

Put some oats (and maybe some salt and/or sugar) in a tub, add water when you go to sleep, warm up or eat cold in the morning. The water and oats make (basically) oat milk if left overnight - ask any good Scottish granny. 

Now youre talking! Custard is indeed, nectar of the gods. Just after rice pudding.